Accident
by Golden28
Summary: Parker was walking with a limp. But, why? Parker wasn't telling, so Eliot went to find out.
1. Chapter 1

Parker carefully stepped into the Leverage offices taking care to keep her bruised leg from affecting her walk. She sat down gingerly on the sofa and held her shoulders perfectly straight to avoid putting any pressure on her already throbbing ribs. She glanced around at the team secretly taking stock of their faces. Good, she noted with relief, no one had seemed to notice her stiff walk, make up covered bruises or out of character clothing. She knew that if you let people know that you were injured that they could take advantage of you. That lesson was one she had learned the hard way.

Eliot's ears perked up when he heard Parker's footsteps coming from the door. He scowled as he heard their uneven gait. Looking up he saw her stiff stilt house in the doorway and watched her settle back into the couch, while holding her leg and shoulders perfectly still. Eyes narrowing he tried to pin point her injuries and come up with a reasonable explanation for them. Because of her lose clothing, yet another clue, to more injuries beneath, he couldn't tell what or where they were. But from what he could see he was guessing that she had several broken ribs on her left side, a badly bruised left leg and some type of injury to her right calf. But that was just what he could see, and he knew what you could see was just half of it.

Mentally he replayed her walk. Parker probably had a bruised thigh and hip, along with definite broken ribs, based on the ridged set of her shoulders, and the way she was setting. Suddenly everyone around him was getting up.

"We just don't have enough information to go after this guy," complained Nate to Hardison.

"And I can't get it," snapped Hardison.

"Why?"

"Because," Hardison said as if explaining something to a child, "the system cannot be hacked REMOTELY"

"So we can do it if Sophie were to walk inside and chat it up with someone, while her phone was on, could you hack in then?"

"Yes" Hardison grumbled

"Great, let's go." Nate said. Turning to Eliot and Parker, as he walked out he said "you two hang out here, and if this all goes south we'll call."

Parker began to unfold herself from the couch, relived that no one had noticed her injuries. It was better that way, she told her guilty conscience. It was fine not to tell them. So when she looked up to find Eliot blocking her from getting up she was surprised. How could I be this stupid she asked herself? Of course Eliot would have been the one to see that she was hurt! That was half of his job.

Parker knew that Eliot watched her often. But she had always put it down to her being 'crazy' and having the most flight risk. But there were times when he watched her like she was something good to eat she thought. And for some reason she didn't mind it in fact, she watched his eyes some days just to see when she was watching her.

Right now he was scaring her. He was eyeing her almost clinically, like a doctor would. Parker froze he knew she was hurt, she could tell. Mentally she panicked, there were no escape routes, he was too fast for her and she knew it. She hoped in her mind that he wouldn't hurt her.

Eliot was wondering what he should do. He could clearly see that she was injured, but was it just not serious? Was that why she hadn't said anything? Quickly he dismissed that idea. No way that limp wasn't serious. Aw, shit she was panicking. Relaxing his posture so that he wasn't as threatening, he asked

"Where are you hurt?"

"I'm not hurt," Parker immediately answered it was more reflex than anything, years in the system had taught her that it was the weakest always got beat up first.

"Parker, we both know your hurt so just let me see how badly," Eliot commanded.

"I've already checked it and I'm not hurt too badly," she mumbled. Why couldn't he just leave it alone? Maybe it was because he thought that she couldn't hold up her end because of her injuries? Well, that made two of them. This morning she hadn't even been able to put her harness on.

Eliot reached out and pulled her hoodie off, having waited long enough, and wanting to know what had happened. When he looked down at her torso he saw red. Bruises covered Parker's arms and waist, along with some scrapes.

"Shit, Parker this is not good."

"I'm sorry!" Parker burst out.

"What?" Eliot said confused. It wasn't like this was her fault. Was it? Intrigued, Eliot set down the first aid kit that he had been picking throughand took a seat next to Parker. Cupping her chin, he asked the fragile thief,

"Darlin' how is any of this your fault?"


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Leverage or TNT. But I can dream!

Thanks to Shezzi who has helped me with this SO much! I also recommend her stories!

Parker stared at him in shock. What else could it be? "Parker?" Eliot called. "Will you tell me what happened?" "I know I shouldn't have been out so late and its okay if you're mad at me, I was only excited about the new harness, so even though it was really late I went out on to this warehouse roof and at first I was just going to plan my test jump and then do it when it was light I just went ahead and then the harness twisted…." Parker began to break down sobbing, unable to continue, while Eliot was in moderate shock. He had never seen the little thief cry, ever.

Unsure of what to do, Eliot reached over and pulled Parker on to his chest and then laid her head in the junction between his shoulder and chest. Surprised, Parker stopped sobbing a little to look at Eliot. Eliot looked down into her eyes and realized that he could have been looking in the eyes of a frightened child. His heart twisted in his chest at the thought. He smiled at her and pressed her head down onto his chest once more to let her cry it out.

Why was Eliot being so kind to her? Parker thought through her pain, both physical and emotional. Did he just feel sorry for her? Did he want something? Deciding to let it wait, Parker let all her pent up fear, pain and confusion out.

Since crying was too painful it was over soon, to Eliot's relief. He hadn't seen anyone he cared about really cry in pain in a while and forgot that it actually hurt you too. Wait a minute, what was that thought? 'Someone he cared about?' He wasn't attached to the team. I am in way over my head he thought. Suddenly, I'm sitting on Nate's couch not just trying to help Parker with her injuries, but I seem to care what happened, and I really care about why she's crying. I'm so screwed. Releasing those thoughts he moved Parker off his chest and laid her out full length on the couch, he grabbed his med kit and began to sift through items.

Parker watched as Eliot sifted through items, studying him for the first time. His eyes were really blue along with that hard jaw…. WAIT A MINUTE! Jaw? what jaw? Eliot was part of her team, he thought she was crazy, they went back and forth in mini arguments that could last for days and… she was thinking of him in terms that were definitely not brother or teammate like. She was in hot water. Very hot water.

Eliot carefully examined her ribs, poking and prodding them in strategic places to determine if they were broken. "Your ribs aren't broken luckily," he stated when he was done. "Are you sure? It feels like it," she complained. Eliot grinned that was so Parker. "No, I'm sure," He said. "But they're bruised badly,"

A comfortable silence was held between them for a short time, while he wrapped her ribs and examined her other injuries, such as scrapes and bruises. When he was done Parker sat up and asked Eliot, "Where did you learn to treat wounds?" Eliot didn't look up from putting away the medical kit, and replied, "It is something someone in my field of occupation should know how to do." "Oh" Parker said looking at him quizzically. "But you didn't answer my question." Eliot took a breath and slowly exhaled through his nose. "What?" demanded Parker. "I used to be a Navy SEAL," Eliot growled.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it

Author's Note: I'm sorry the wait should have been shorter but it is my Spanish teacher's joy in life to give out insane amounts of homework! Sorry!

"Well why did you stop being a Navy SEAL?" asked Parker. "It was too sick of the blood and death. My team was ambushed by rebels in Columbia." "Wait," Parker ordered. "I thought that they were sending you guys over to Iraq and Afghanistan." "They don't treat us like normal soldiers, Parker. We go where ever we're needed, which is usually the most dangerous place you can think of," Eliot stated, his voice echoing with unspoken of ghosts. "O.K, go on" Parker demanded. "I had stopped to fix the sights on my gun for a moment, and somebody stepped on a land mine, and then we were ambushed." "The first three guys on point didn't even feel a thing, is what I was later told. I finished my tour in Iraq as commander of another team," To Parker this seamed brief and a very relatively unemotional speech, but then what did she know about emotions? She would have to ask Sophie about how people should act while telling someone about the death of their friends. "Oh" Parker said "Yeah," Eliot stated raising his eyebrow sarcastically "That's about all you can say about it." "But stealing things?" "What?" Eliot asked, not following Parker's mental jump. "Why did you start to steal stuff?" "Oh, that. Well after all those things happened I tried to go home and work things out with my Mother and siblings but it just didn't work out." "Why?" asked Parker. Eliot mentally shuddered. He should have known that Parker wouldn't have any emotional boundaries while discussing this, like Sophie would have. But then he reasoned with himself, why was he never able to speak to Sophie about this? "Because I don't feel this way around her," "What?" asked Parker? "Nothing!" Eliot interjected. "O.K" Parker accepted, "But you didn't answer my question," "Like I said when I went home it didn't work out so I decided to travel some. When I was in Brussels I got a call on my cell." He paused and took a breath. "It was the boss of one of the people I'd taken out. He said that even though I had indispensible harmed his operation he would forgive my debt if I stole a necklace from the Museum of Natural History in Brussels." "So you did it?" "Yup, I did it, got out by the skin of my teeth too

"Oh," Parker said considering ways to get in and out of the fore mentioned museum.

After that the conversation flowed smoothly around them until they settled into a comfortable silence. All to soon Eliot took a call on the comms and they were informed that Hardison, Nate, and Sophie were all coming back to the flat. Just when Parker was feeling sad because her perfect day with Eliot was over, Eliot turned and touched her face. "You know this isn't over, he said gently. "What" a confused Parker turned and asked. "Next time you're going to test a harness out you call me. I'll be there incase anything happens to you." "Thank you." Parker murmured. As they heard the sound of foot steps grow nearer, Parker glanced over at Eliot and suddenly felt all warm and fuzzy. She knew that she could rely on him and that meant something to someone like her who didn't encounter that very often. She didn't know where it would go but hey, that's the fun of life isn't it? Sophie had said that to her one time. So Parker figured that she and Eliot would do just that.


	4. Chapter 4

Epilogue

Eliot and Parker drove along a winding road in the mountains of Coast Rica. Parker had her arms thrown up in the air and Eliot was laughing thrilled at the sight of her having fun. The bond between them had grown since that day he'd gotten her to confide in him. At first it was just a strong friendship but as she became more and more dependent on him they morphed in to something more at an indeterminate time. Even Nate couldn't tell when it had happened. The team had retired. Nate and Sophie were happily living in Tahiti and were expecting a baby in October. Hardison had moved to Australia and in his latest e-mails he was trying to find a hundred ways to hack twitter. But at least he had a supportive girlfriend, Regina a beautiful Moroccan computer hacker he'd met in Egypt. Everyone was happy and Parker was his!


End file.
